Containers which have caps for allowing an opening to be covered or uncovered are known in the art. These containers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are used for a variety of materials. A body portion typically serves to contain the material being stored and also provides an opening, such as a threaded neck, for attaching a cap. Many of these containers are designed to be child-proof by providing caps which must be manipulated in a particular fashion in order to be removed.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,200,979 (Powers), 3,276,612 (Caldwell), 3,426,930 (Hershler) and 3,447,709 (Morasko) teach medicine containers having safety caps to prevent a child from opening the container.
While many of these containers may be successful in preventing children from gaining access to the contents, they also prevent adults who may be arthritic or paralyzed from opening the containers. Thus, these types of containers have limited usefulness since they cannot be used by adults unable to open them. At the same time, a container which may be opened by an arthritic adult may be accessible to a child thus exposing him to the danger inherent in such a container.
Many other containers also require a locking mechanism to prevent easy access to the contents. For example, a container of food may be in the presence of an animal to be fed so that it is necessary to have a mechanism for preventing the animal from opening the container.